Financial Services Guide

A guide to the services we provide.

Hive Empire Pty Ltd ABN 18 118 725 125 (trading as finder.com.au) is a Corporate Authorised Representative (432664) of Finder.com.au Pty Ltd ACN 166 740 398, Australian Financial Services Licence ("AFSL") number 547310 ("Finder AU", "our", "us" or "we").

Finder AU is responsible for the financial services provided to you under this Financial Services Guide ("FSG") and has authorised Hive Empire to distribute this FSG.

How to Contact Finder AU and Hive Empire

You can contact both Finder AU and Hive Empire by using the details listed on the Contact Us page of the Finder Site, or at the address below.

1. Purpose of this FSG

The purpose of this FSG is to help you understand the services we authorise Hive Empire, acting as our Corporate Authorised Representative, to provide to you so that you can make an informed decision about whether to use those services.

This FSG contains information about:

  • the types of services and financial products that we have authorised Hive Empire to provide to you ("Financial Services");
  • remuneration, commission or other benefits received paid to Hive Empire and others in connection with the Financial Services;
  • details of any associations and potential conflicts of interest which might reasonably be expected to be able to influence the provision of the Financial Services;
  • the complaint resolution arrangements that apply to the Financial Services and how you can access them.

This FSG contains only general information about the Financial Services.

2. Authorised Financial Services

We have authorised Hive Empire to provide general financial product advice, and to arrange and deal in the following financial products to retail clients:

  • Basic deposit products such as bank accounts;
  • Non-basic deposit products such as deposits with terms greater than 2 years;
  • Non-cash payment products;
  • Derivatives;
  • General insurance;
  • Government debentures, stocks and bonds;
  • Managed investment schemes including Investor Directed Portfolio Services; and
  • Life insurance and life risk insurance products (such as income protection);
  • Retirement savings accounts;
  • Securities (an example of a security is an exchange traded funds ("ETF") listed on the Australian Stock Exchange);
  • Standard margin lending facilities; and
  • Superannuation.

General Advice

General advice provides you with information about a financial product or service. It may be verbal or in writing and can help you learn more about financial products or services, so that you may better assess whether such a product or service is right for you.

Although Hive Empire provides general information on the products offered by a wide range of providers, it doesn't cover every product or provider in the market, nor does it consider your financial situation, needs or objectives ("your circumstances").

Hive Empire, acting as a Corporate Authorised Representative of Finder AU, provides general financial product advice. This general advice is disseminated in the form of comparative and general information related to the financial products referred to above, through various platforms including the Finder Site, Finder mobile app, e-newsletters, and social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Hive Empire may also deliver general financial product advice during seminars, webinars, and other oral presentations.

Dealing Services

Hive Empire also provides "dealing services'' when it arranges for you to buy, sell or vary your interest in a financial product. An example of this would be where Hive Empire refers you to a product issuer with whom it has a commercial arrangement ("Partner"), such as by way of a unique hyperlink that redirects you from the Finder Site to the Partner's website) so that you may directly engage with the Partner to apply for or purchase a financial product.

It is important to remember when you receive a dealing service neither Hive Empire or the Partner as considered whether the financial product is right for you. For this reason, you should read the PDS and TMD to ensure you are making an appropriate decision.

Important Product Disclosure Documents

If you receive general advice and/or dealing services from Hive Empire, it's important to carefully consider its appropriateness in relation to your circumstances. This is because Hive Empire provides general advice and dealing services without considering your financial situation, needs, or objectives.

If the general advice and dealing services you receive pertain to a specific financial product, it's recommended that you visit the product issuer website to obtain and thoroughly review both the Product Disclosure Statement ("PDS") and the Target Market Determination ("TMD") for the product. The PDS outlines the risks, benefits, fees and charges for a financial product, and the TMD describes the class of consumers for whom the product is targeted. Each document should be taken into account before deciding to purchase, retain, or sell a financial product.

Personal Financial Product Advice

Personal advice is a recommendation (or opinion) about a financial product that considers your objectives, financial situation, or needs. According to Australian law, only licensed Financial Advisers are authorised to provide personal advice.

Hive Empire is not authorised to offer you personal advice or individualised recommendations, and in turn, you will never receive Statement of Advice ("SoA") from Hive Empire in connection with the Financial Services.

Although Hive Empire can provide you with comparative information about a range of financial products, any advice it provides will be general advice and won't be tailored to your personal circumstances. You shouldn't make any decision without considering your circumstances and understanding that the Financial Services provided by Hive Empire are on a general basis only and might not be suitable for you.

Should you require personal advice in relation to a financial product, contact us to inquire about whether we are able to refer you to an advice provider who may be able to assist you.

Lack Independence Disclosure

Finder AU has an Approved Products List and can provide you with a copy upon your request. However, as we continue to be paid commissions for life insurance products and receive fees based on the asset value of some investments, we must disclose this lack of independence. Though, Hive Empire only gives general advice.

3. Associations and Potential Conflicts

Finder AU

Hive Empire pays Finder AU a monthly fee to act as an authorised representative under our AFSL, and be named on our professional indemnity insurance policy.

Partners and Advice Providers

Neither Hive Empire nor Finder AU are owned by Fund Managers, Insurers or Banks so the Financial Services provided are not directly influenced by financial product issuers or advice providers.

However, Hive Empire is a commercial enterprise and does receive remuneration from Partners and advice providers for advertising and promoting their products and services, and the making of any referrals to them.

As explained above, when you click on a unique hyperlink for the product on the Finder Site, or proceed to apply for, or purchase, an insurance policy or open a bank account, a Partner may pay Hive Empire a referral fee. Any referral payments made to Hive Empire by Partner or advice provider do not involve any cost to you. Use of the Finder Site and associated platforms including the Finder mobile app are free for you to use.

Personnel

Hive Empire engages salaried personnel to facilitate its provision of the Financial Services. Aside from salary, personnel do not receive any other benefits that may influence the general advice or dealing services that Hive Empire provides.

4. Remuneration, Commission and Other Benefits

Product Issuers

Hive Empire earns income from generating qualified referrals to Partners (i.e. financial product issuers with whom it has a commercial arrangement).

A referral is generated when you visit a Partner's website via a link from the Finder Site. If you visit a Partner's website via the Finder Site, Hive Empire may receive a one-off payment either for that click itself or if you transact with the Partner. Some examples of when a payment obligation owed by a Partner to Hive Empire could arise include when you:

  • apply for an insurance policy;
  • open a savings account; or
  • complete an application form on the Partner's website with a view to acquiring a financial product regardless of the outcome of your application.

Additionally, in some cases, Hive Empire may be paid commissions for life insurance products on an on-going basis, and may receive commissions based on the asset value of some investments.

Advice Providers

Hive Empire may receive commission share on referrals to third party advice providers. Where this occurs, the relevant advice provider will disclose any financial benefit obtained by Hive Empire in the advice documentation issued to you.

Sponsored Placements

We also generate revenue from display advertising of Partners and/or the financial products issued by them, which may include banner advertisements and exclusive e-newsletter campaigns.

5. Protecting Your Privacy

The privacy of your personal information is important to us and we respect your confidentiality.

Personal information will only be collected where necessary to provide the Financial Services. For example, we may collect your name and contact details such as your email and/or phone number for the purposes of sending you a quote or other comparative information regarding a financial product.

You have the right not to provide the personal information requested, but this may compromise the effectiveness of the advice or information you receive. Rest assured that any personal information collected or otherwise handled, will be treated in accordance with the Finder Group Privacy & Cookies Policy.

6. Professional Indemnity Insurance

We have a professional indemnity insurance policy in place that covers claims in respect of the Financial Services detailed in this FSG where provided by our authorised persons ("authorised acts"). These authorised acts are covered even where the authorised person ceases to be so authorised. We believe that this policy satisfies the requirements of section 912B of the Corporations Act and other applicable regulations.

7. Complaints and Dispute Resolution Arrangements

Internal Dispute Resolution

If you are not satisfied with the service you receive while Hive Empire is acting under Finder AU's AFSL, you can lodge a complaint directly to Hive Empire or Finder AU.

You can lodge a complaint by using any of the contact channels listed on the contact us page of the Finder Site.

After your complaint has been received, we will generally contact you within 1 business day to acknowledge your complaint. We will endeavour to satisfactorily resolve the issue with you within 30 days (unless we notify you there will be a delay in our response due to the complexity of the case and/or circumstances outside our control).

External Dispute Resolution

You may also pursue the matter through an external dispute resolution process (although this generally only proceeds after a complaint has gone through the internal complaints handling process or if we notify you of a delay).

Both Hive Empire and Finder AU are members with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority ("AFCA"):

AFCA MemberMember Number
Hive Empire Pty Ltd (trading as finder.com.au)42503
Finder.com.au Pty Ltd95829

AFCA is an external dispute resolution scheme established to resolve complaints about member companies. AFCA provides fair and independent financial services complaint resolution that is free to consumers.

You can contact AFCA using the details below:

Australian Financial Complaints Authority

  • Address: GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001 Phone: 1800 931 678 (free call)
  • Email: info@afca.org.au
  • Website: www.afca.org.au

Please note that the complaint procedures set out in this FSG do not apply to complaints you wish to lodge or make against the product issuer of the financial product for which you apply or otherwise acquire. For details of how to make such complaints, refer to the PDS of the relevant product.

Date: 11 January 2024

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